Skip to main content

Idea Book: BenderBot Video

By
BenderBot: The Anti-Theory Music Robot

Here's a freshly thrown video providing some idea of BenderBot's functionality and purpose.

BenderBot is a musical instrument which generates sound suitable for sampling and recording just as with any instrument. However, this instrument is like no other. You program and play it however you wish. The slate is clean (aside the sample programs and ideas) for you to create your own music. The bot can be set to run autonomously or can be operated manually. You program it as you wish. Viewers may notice (or knob-up your PC speakers until you do) the wild sound track segments near the start and end of the video. These segments are the results of a home recording studio production of BenderBot, an electric guitar, a sound processor pedal, and a Circuit Bent Texas Instruments Speak & Spell. These instruments were used to create sound samples that were then assembled into a nice track. Breaking it down further concerning BenderBot...with your PC and some freeware you can create a short sound sample, convert it for use in the NXT and NXT-G software, crank out some NXT sounds, record samples with your PC when you are jammin'out, mix'em around and produce your own 'noise'. What you see in the video is only a very tiny example of what can be produced using BenderBot. Different equipment combinations or a lone BenderBot can be used to achieve nice tracks. Grab a copy of the Idea Book and give BenderBot a spin!

Soon, I'll release a tutorial on creating NXT-G sound samples for NXT instruments and details for processing recordings towards song productions. I encourage readers to visit our forum section to discuss BenderBot and the other Idea Book Bots. A sound sample download section will soon be created to provide a few usable sound collections! Please, drop by and let us know how your NXTrument endeavors play out.

What kind of music will you create with your NXT instrument? Let us know!



Christopher Smith
Littlehorn
Labels:

Popular posts from this blog

Celebrating 25 Years of MINDSTORMS

By Asha Seshan - ROBOTMAK3R
In celebration of the 25th Anniversary of MINDSTORMS, we take a trip through history. Please also visit ROBOTMAK3RS Community every week as we highlight different projects all through 2023 in celebration of the anniversary. Some of the early history is based on the content shared by  Coder Shah  in our  MINDSTORMS EV3 Community Group . Some of the text and links may have been edited from his original posts for consistency and clarity.  1984 - Kjeld Kirk Kristiansen watched a TV program called "Talking Turtle," where MIT professor Seymour Papert demonstrated how children could control robot "turtles" using LOGO, a programming language he developed. 1988 - The collaboration between MIT and LEGO resulted in LEGO TC Logo in 1988, which allowed students to control LEGO models using computer commands. The video shows Papert demonstrating TC Logo. 1990 - LEGO TC Logo was hampered since the robots you built had to be tethered to a personal computer. LEGO and MIT...
Read more

ROBOTMAK3RS Review: LEGO River Steamboat

By Asha Seshan - ROBOTMAK3R
I thought the LEGO River Steamboat would be an interesting set for a ROBOTMAK3R review for a few reasons. First, the LEGO designer of the model is Marina Stampoli, a long-time collaborator of the late ROBOTMAK3R Vassilis Chryssanthakopoulo s. From earlier collaborations with Vassilis, I  knew Marina was incredibly talented, with an eye for aesthetics and functionality. Her background in architecture is particularly useful for her relatively new position at LEGO. Her other sets include the Magic of Disney (21352), Message Board (41839), and Red London Telephone Box (21347). Second, watching Marina's reveal video  and reading her designer interview made this set even more tempting to build. The gearing mechanisms running through the model gave way to many opportunities for automation using LEGO robotics elements. Since ROBOTMAK3RS is all about adding interactivity and automation to LEGO brick, I thought it would be fun to see where and how LEGO robotics could be added to this s...
Read more

Ghostbusters R.T.V Remix

By Asha Seshan - ROBOTMAK3R
Nino Guba is from Torrance, California, USA. He played with LEGO as a kid, but growing up in the Philippines, it wasn’t something he had easy access to. He only got reintroduced to LEGO when he moved to the US and had kids of his own. When his sons were younger, they received LEGO sets as gifts, but as they grew older, the sets got put into storage as their interest faded. Fast forward a few years, he started coming up with his own product ideas and thought about how he could quickly prototype them. That’s when he discovered LEGO MINDSTORMS—and was hooked! He raided his kids’ old collection, got everything organized, and now he's designing and building his own creations, blending his coding skills with LEGO robotics to bring ideas to life. Tell us about your Ghostbusters Remote Trap Vehicle (R.T.V) project. This project is a LEGO Technic adaptation of the Ghostbusters R.T.V.—a ghost trap converted into a remote-controlled vehicle. Its companion build is a prop replica of the Futaba...
Read more